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The 1973 Oil Crises was sparked by an Arab dominated OPEC getting payback for US and other western support to Israel during the Yom Kippur War when they thought Syria, plus allies would drive down from the Golan Heights and wipe Israel off the map.
The 1979 Oil Crises was due to disruptions as the Shah of Iran fled his nation and the revolutionary government was attempting to get in place.
In both cases while the US, if it closed its physical and economic borders to all others had enough internal resources . However since oil was/is a fungible commodity a disruption anywhere is a disruption everywhere.
The 1973 Oil Crises was sparked by an Arab dominated OPEC getting payback for US and other western support to Israel during the Yom Kippur War when they thought Syria, plus allies would drive down from the Golan Heights and wipe Israel off the map.
The 1979 Oil Crises was due to disruptions as the Shah of Iran fled his nation and the revolutionary government was attempting to get in place.
In both cases while the US, if it closed its physical and economic borders to all others had enough internal resources . However since oil was/is a fungible commodity a disruption anywhere is a disruption everywhere.
From 1945 until 1974, U.S. production of oil declined primarily because the oil reserves in America that were easy to tap had been utilized. Also, American demand for oil continued to rise as the population grew and many people began making purchases of vehicles like motor homes and cars that inefficiently used gasoline. The energy crisis was real, but was a function of not only increased demand, but difficulty increasing supply of domestic oil.
On other hand, oil was so plentiful in the Middle East that there were places in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Arab states where it poured out of the ground on its own.
The 1973 Israeli-Arab War furnished the impetus for Arab countries to form OPEC. However, that move was like a train coming down the tracks--it was going to happen sooner or later--as these countries recognized the dependence of the USA and other western countries on oil.
Technology eventually came to our rescue as we developed "fracking" and other techniques that allowed us to harvest oil resources that previously were out of reach because of economics. However, now mankind is facing the issue of climate change which has largely resulted from burning of fossil based fuels. Fossil fuels will remain part of the economy for many decades. However, a shift is gradually occurring away from these fuels. In the modern world, a century is a very a long time. I suspect by the middle of the 21st century, energy sources will largely have shifted away from fossil fuels.
Also can America drill their own oil to be less dependant on oil in the middle East?
'less dependent'? Sure? Oil independent? No.
It's a matter of basic economics.
First, the United States is the biggest producer of crude oil in the world, just ahead of Russia - this despite the fact that the U.S. ranks 11th in terms of proven reserves. In other words, the U.S. is blowing through its recoverable crude at a far faster rate than any other producer. This probably isn't an issue, as alternative fuel sources are emerging and will mean that much recoverable crude is, in the end, never recovered. But it does demonstrate that the U.S. is very aggressive in terms of extracting from its own reserves. However, oil is a global commodity. If the global supplied of crude is disrupted, such as due to conflict or embargo, then the price of oil rises everywhere due to supply and demand. You don't really think that Exxon, Chevron, and the like are going to artificially keep prices of U.S.-produced crude low while they're spiking globally due to whatever supply problem occurs, do you? Do you see shareholders foregoing dividends and climbing value of their holdings just so you and I don't have to pay at the pump? Me, neither. And what's the alternative? Nationalize the oil companies? That's not going to happen. The U.S. is also not immune to the economic ramifications of a disruption to the flow of crude as it affects other countries. For example, the EU consumes about 15 million barrels per day while producing less than a quarter of that. If the EU - or Japan, which produces a fraction of 1% of the oil it consumes - had its external supplies cut off, the devastating economic impacts would ripple strongly to North Aamerica.
It's an interconnected world and there's not getting around that.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ukrkoz
Huh?
Also can America drill their own oil to be less dependant on oil in the middle East?
USA is the third largest oil producing country in the world.
On other hand, oil was so plentiful in the Middle East that there were places in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Arab states where it poured out of the ground on its own.
That there's oil everywhere except Israel is the greatest sour joke in modern times.
From 1945 until 1974, U.S. production of oil declined primarily because the oil reserves in America that were easy to tap had been utilized. Also, American demand for oil continued to rise as the population grew and many people began making purchases of vehicles like motor homes and cars that inefficiently used gasoline. The energy crisis was real, but was a function of not only increased demand, but difficulty increasing supply of domestic oil.
On other hand, oil was so plentiful in the Middle East that there were places in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Arab states where it poured out of the ground on its own.
The 1973 Israeli-Arab War furnished the impetus for Arab countries to form OPEC. However, that move was like a train coming down the tracks--it was going to happen sooner or later--as these countries recognized the dependence of the USA and other western countries on oil.
Technology eventually came to our rescue as we developed "fracking" and other techniques that allowed us to harvest oil resources that previously were out of reach because of economics. However, now mankind is facing the issue of climate change which has largely resulted from burning of fossil based fuels. Fossil fuels will remain part of the economy for many decades. However, a shift is gradually occurring away from these fuels. In the modern world, a century is a very a long time. I suspect by the middle of the 21st century, energy sources will largely have shifted away from fossil fuels.
I believe OPEC was formed in 1964. The 1973-74 oil embargo, prompted by the 1973 mideast war, was the first time that OPEC used its oil for political reasons. The real event that allowed them to do this took place in the spring of 1972 and was little noticed at the time. That was when the US reached what was full production capacity at the time. The result was that for the first time, the US lacked the ability to pump more of its own oil to counter any adverse moves on price or supply by OPEC members. As long as the US had that ability to increase its own oil production, OPEC didn't dare to force major price increases or impose embargoes. But with the loss of the ability to raise production levels, the US lost that leverage and the balance of power shifted to OPEC.
The US pulled out of the Bretton Woods agreement in late 1971, and OPEC prices were fixed to gold and thus floated against the weakening US dollar.
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